Catriona smiled; she was finally eighteen. She had been training for this moment. She was now fully into her powers, and her village had given her the name Earth Phoenix. She had just gotten word there was a disturbance in the next village over. The Queen of Evil Arc was causing trouble.
Arc was one of the oldest villains.
She was also undefeated.
But Catriona still was naïve. So, she used her powers and took to the sky; it was time to show the villain there was a new hero in this world. And this hero would not stand for Arc’s bullshit.
Just because nobody defeated Arc yet, did not mean someone could not. Nobody knew how old Arc was, just that she had been around for a long time already. Catriona could admit to a curiosity about the woman. She had only ever heard about her. Never seen her. She had seen what destruction she left in her wake. Catriona remembered when her tribe’s leader took her to a scene of Arc’s destruction.
Catriona was fifteen. She walked with her father and their tribe’s leader. “Where are we going?”
“To see the destruction of a villain, to see the pain, so you know what you fight against, child.” Her father had answered.
When they got to the village, there were children crying, women going around trying to hide the bodies from the young children. There were structures burned.
Catriona was looking at the ground and saw strange lines in the ground. She flew up to look from above. And saw the lightning bolts burned into the ground. Directed it seemed towards certain structures. Could Arc have that much control? There was a beauty in the destruction. Even Catriona could admit that. She looked through the lines, as it scorched the Earth, and where the bolts ended at many dead bodies that had not yet been cleaned up. Catriona landed as the image was burned into her mind. She may only have a mortal normal memory capacity, but she would never forget that scene.
And now at eighteen that scene is what fueled her to want to be a hero. To stop the villain known as Arc. Never understanding why Arc was a villain, perhaps if she knew then what she would one day learn, she would have taken a different approach in trying to stop Arc from her mass destruction.
Etain was having fun. She had been bored, and this tiny village claimed to be protected by a new hero. She wanted to meet this hero. So, she planned an attack. There were some males that needed to be killed, and women that allowed their sons and husbands to act like barbarians. She smirked as she shot some currents at the worst of the lot and watched as it hit her target of his dick, causing his balls to explode before she ran the current through his body to explode his head. Then went towards the village center.
She just walked into the village and started shooting electrical currents in the air. Not hurting anybody, just destroying. How the world missed she never actually killed anybody who was innocent she did not know. But it did give her a nice reputation, one she used to become feared by heroes and villains alike. It went on like this for a bit, a bit of destruction. Reminding people she was the bad guy. For sure not a hero type. Even without her shady and dark past, she doubted she could ever be the hero type. It is not her style.
And then she heard the new hero come. She flipped around and held a bolt of electricity in her hand. They took away her breath. This new hero was gorgeous. This hero had a warm sepia skin tone, the undertones were an orange red. Her eyes were honey burgundy, brown. Etain wanted nothing more than to see her blush. Perhaps she could turn this little hero. But she needed time to plot, so she just smiled and winked. “You are mine, for eternity.” Etain then disappeared and left the tiny village to plot the next encounter.
Catriona was confused, she turned up, and the villain stated one line and left. She turned to help the citizen put out fires and put things into order. She was confused. Why would the villain who was feared even amongst the oldest of heroes just leave when she showed up? Catriona had heard stories of Arc, but had not been prepared to see the beauty before her.
Arc’s blue eyes were a white blue, like ice, or the electrical currents she controlled. Her hair was like a dark flame, and her skin that was fair, so fair one could see the cool silverish blue veins upon what parts of her chest that were exposed, with the most captivating rose painting her cheeks. Then just to say, ‘you are mine, for eternity,’ and then leave. Catriona tried to push it out of her mind, but she felt that something major just happened, something that would change the course of her life forever.
Etain entered her lair and sat down on her throne. She knew her minions would not ask questions. She had created an illusion and spent some time asking about the new hero. Found out her name was Earth Phoenix. And better yet, she found the village she came from. Which meant she could send her minions to get her proper name.
She had never had that reaction to a hero, or anybody since her first loves. She looked at her minions. “Spread word, the new hero, Earth Phoenix, is mine! Any villain, hero, or mortal that touches her will find my wrath.”
“Yes, Queen!” They yelled before rushing off and spreading the world.
Etain went to her office and sat down. Her minions never got to be in her house. She pulled out her journal and created an entry, as she had every day since she was taught to write under the cover of darkness by her mother.
‘The nightmares still plague me. What is one more nightmare in this three thousand year long life? Thankfully, I do not have to have much sleep, for when I do, all I see is the event that created this evil. And I wake up sweating more than a demon in a confessional. Sometimes I wonder if it is my nightmares the fuel me. Other times I know it is my anger and hatred towards a man I killed almost three thousand years ago. Nothing changes in this life. That is… until today.
Today I met a new hero. And the punch in the gut I received was like nothing I had felt before. It was like I had electrocuted myself. I had not felt that since the first time I laid eyes upon Bridgid and Drest when I was eight and knew I would marry them.
This new hero would make a good conquest, but something held me back from fighting her today. Perhaps I will another day. But something tells me, I will let this hero win, just so can keep seeing her again and again.
Instead, I teeter on the edge of whatever type of madness she has sparked inside my soul. The smallest thing will push me into releasing whatever comes from that madness. Either the sheer vileness that I know surrounds the light of my soul, or the honest truth of emotions shall erupt from my soul like a volcano.
Perhaps tomorrow I will unleash my darkness.
Unleash my powers at full strength.
The question is, will tomorrow ever come?
For all I want is to see her.
I must be careful.
For the taste of love…
Love?
No.
This is lust.
But the taste of love is bittersweet.
And it is no different with lust.
When all I see is the darkness of my soul, something comes back to remind me I am but a human, gifted or not, and I am not exempt from feeling human emotions of lust. It is time to go have another fling. Perhaps that will get this hero off my mind.’
Etain looked at the ancient language, one that has all but died out. It predated the Celtic languages of Ireland. She had been born in the Early Bronze Age after all, and the Celts came near the end. Nobody from that time was around anymore. The practically immortal e and villains had been killed, and she remained. Mostly because she killed them. Any connection to her life before she let her powers known by killing those who broke her, heart, mind, and soul, had to be destroyed.
Etain shivered once more, thinking of her past. It was cold out. She always hated the cold. But she stayed in chilly places. Mostly because the ice and snow could buffer her powers if she lost control of them during her night terrors. She did not have many anymore, but enough that she did not want to take any chances.
Etain hated the cold. The chill in the air had nothing really to do with the child in her soul when she thought of the past. She could not get warm at this time, this chill it went bone deep.
She was sure it was just grief she had refused to deal with even after three thousand years, and being reminded of her past love brought terrible memories to the surface.
She hated the cold.
Heat was easy to deal with; she could strip off her clothes and lay in the sun, maybe even by a lake, and get a tan. She could lay naked in the sun, or moon, and let the winds cool the sweat upon her body. Or she could strip and dive into the pool, or the lake, or an ocean even.
When she dives deep into the cool water, she would come back to the surface feeling refreshed. Like the glacial water washed away, just for the moment, all the weight on her shoulders. For a moment, the cold in her soul was helping to cool her down, to remind her she was human, and she was alive.
But the cold…
She shivered as she wrapped her arms around herself; the cold was hell.
For the cold, there was nothing she could do to escape that. It clutched at her like death’s claws and laughed at her as her lips turned blue. She had been in a few places, where no matter the layers, no matter the body heat, and no matter the temperature, the cold went deep into her bones as if preparing her for death.
Each time she fought the cold of death.
But the cold filling her bones tonight was a different type.
It was not the fear of death.
No, she knew that cold all too well in the spots she had been in during her time traveling this world full of imperfect beings.
No, this cold was a deep soul cutting grief that comes with losing the only people that kept her grounded. Kept her moral. Kept her from building her powers up enough to be so feared that people called her Queen. And that cold…
She didn’t know exactly how to fight.
So, she just waited for the memories to pass. The nightmare to come. Then she would take it and shove it all back into the darkest parts of her mind, stick that part of her back into the cage in the darkness of her mind, and ignore it until it reminded her once more of the darkest day of her life.
She stood up. She had to do something. She left the lair with an outfit for the time, of course, a noble woman, used to money and riches. She did enjoy the finer things of life. It did not take her long to end up in a village that had a celebration going on. She found a woman with darker skin and, after drinking herself to the point of numbness, took her to her bed.
Had she ever been sober when she had sex since she was eighteen?
She could not remember, even with an eidetic memory like hers, three thousand years of memories get jumbled and lost in her mind. It was another reason she always wrote in her journals.
She pushed the thoughts away. She had a substitute for the one she wanted in her bed, naked in said bed. She smirked at the woman. Tonight, would be good for some stress relief.
Evil did not change after all.
Evil was evil.
She knew the one she wanted in the bed would never be there.
Not unless she did the impossible and got a pure soul to fall.
For tonight, this woman with darkened skin was enough to sate her restlessness.
The next morning, Etain left the woman and was back at her lair. She thought sex would have pushed the thoughts of that new hero from her mind. Alas, thoughts of that new little goody two shoes were still floating in her head. Sex had always worked before. What was it about this hero?
Something had to be done about these thoughts in her head.
Time for another attack.
Etain enjoyed watching Phoenix as she kept throwing punches at her. Sometimes Etain lets them hit. But she was just playing. She watched her fighting style. Phoenix would have to be protected for a long while. Phoenix was still young and thus needed time to perfect her fighting style. Etain made a note to send some martial artists she knew from Asia to train Phoenix. She would have to wipe their minds exactly who hired them, but it was worth the risk. After all, Etain could not risk another stupid ass villain or hero messing with her Earth Phoenix.
She had called dibs.
And Etain knew villains liked to push boundaries. She was a villain, and she never listened to the other dibs. She battled heroes as they messed with her plans. She did not seek them out, but she never let them win. She expected some issues with a few villains. Nothing that Etain could not handle, but it would be annoying.
She will go to Asia tomorrow.
Let the sweet little hero think she gained their eye with her potential. Which may be true if they heard of her fighting in a few months, but Etain was not a patient person. Never had been, never truly will be.
There was a martial artist that was known to make deals.
He was a powered martial artist. He was not a hero, but he was not a villain either. But a deal with the devil to make sure Phoenix could protect herself was better than not making a deal at all and taking the risk of losing Phoenix.
Etain got a good hit in on Phoenix, and it threw her into a wall of rock. “Get up, little hero!”
Phoenix was gasping for breath. She did not know if she could get up. Arc was just too powerful. She did not know if she could make it out alive. She thought about leaving, to fight another day.
“You do not get to think about leaving, little hero. You have a choice. You can either roll over and die. I can make your death quick. Or you can keep fighting. No matter what, you keep fighting. So, get up, little hero. Or you are not a hero but a fraud.”
That pissed Phoenix off. She pushed herself up and threw herself back into battle.
Etain laughed and let it go for a while. She smirked as they both stood upon the ground. “Good job, little hero.” She got close and laughed, “you are mine, for eternity.” With that, Etain disappeared once more.
Etain felt more alive during the battle than she had since she became Arc. But honestly, this hero was getting her wrapped around her little finger. She had to leave. She had an ego on her, but honestly, no self-respecting villain let a hero win like she let Phoenix win today. Oh, Etain was no fool. She knew she would make the same terrible choice and start a battle to just see the pretty new hero. And then let the hero think she won. She just had to be more prepared next time for the emotions, so the dear Phoenix did not catch on to what was happening.
A villain falling for a hero?
It could not happen.
For Etain had her moments of happiness over three thousand years ago.
But she knew she would fall to the temptation of seeing the pretty hero again.
However, today’s plans were to move to a new location for a while, drink coffee, and try not to stab any of the minions for asking stupid questions. Like asking the new hero out as her persona. Stupid minion. Do they not know that a light as bright as a Phoenix should not be dragged into the dark? Once a hero sees true darkness, takes that one step into the darkness, they are never the same again. And Etain did not want to be responsible for that step in Phoenix’s growth.
For a complete bitch, she could be decent.
However, Phoenix would be protected.
After all, she called dibs.
Though at times, Etain wondered who would ever save her?
Was she worth saving?
Then the reality of her existence would smack her in the face. She did not have to be saved. She did not have to submit. She would never submit. She was not a damsel in distress. She could slay her own goddamn demons.
She would never allow herself to fall to that weakness again.
Never.
Kris Charles - Author 